Taipei, Aug. 19 (CNA) Taiwan's manufacturing sector has recorded a year-on-year decline of almost 20 percent in production value for the third consecutive quarter as investments and consumption continued to fall, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).Data compiled by the MOEA's Department of Statistics showed the output posted by the exports-oriented manufacturing sector fell 19.57 percent from a year earlier to NT$4.21 trillion (US$132 billion) in the second quarter.The decline was steeper than the 13.59 percent drop seen in the first quarter and the 5.73 percent fall in the fourth quarter of last year.The MOEA said an aggressive rate hike cycle prompted by high inflationary pressure has hurt the economy and consumer demand. The weakness in production value in the second quarter also reflected a continued inventory adjustments in the global supply chains, it added.The electronics component industry, one of the backbones of Taiwan's exports, posted about NT$1.21 trillion in output in the April-June period, down 22.70 percent from a year earlier, as semiconductor suppliers saw weak global demand, which pushed down the production value in the semiconductor segment of the industry by 25.20 percent to NT$704.3 billion, the data indicated.In addition, flat panel makers also suffered a 14.02 percent year-on-year decline in output valued at NT$136.9 billion on the back of weakening demand as well as falling product prices, the data showed.The electronics component industry accounted for 28.72 percent of the manufacturing sector's total output value, according to the MOEA.The computer and optoelectronics industry appeared resilient with production value falling only 3.38 percent from a year earlier to NT$261.0 billion in the second quarter as demand for cloud applications offset the weakness in end-users' demand worldwide.Old economy industries mostly saw their output falling at a double-digit pace in the second quarter as the chemical material and fertilizer industry posted the steepest year-on-year decline of 35.99 percent in production value at NT$383.4 billion, with major ethylene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) product suppliers scaling back production, the MOEA said.The base metal industry posted NT$380.2 billion in output in the second quarter, down 27.36 percent in a fragile global market, while the machinery industry generated NT$220.6 billion in output, down 16.59 percent from a year earlier as investors scaled back their investments for production expansion, the MOEA added.Bucking the downturn, the auto and auto parts industry enjoyed a 10.70 percent year-on-year increase in output in the April-June period with production value at NT$127.0 billion, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of growth as car vendors were keen to launch new models to boost sales, the MOEA said.It added that a price spike in auto parts also boosted output in the industry.Looking at data for the first half of the year, the production value of Taiwan's manufacturing sector fell at an even higher rate -- 57.62 percent -- from a year earlier to NT$8.43 trillion, according to the MOEA.As for the second half of the year, the MOEA said peak season effects as well as the growing popularity of emerging technologies such as high-performance computing devices, artificial intelligence and automotive electronics are expected to lend some support to the manufacturing sector.However, the lingering impact from high inflation and interest rates, the Russia-Ukraine war and trade tensions between Washington and Beijing are expected to continue to impact production, the MOEA said.(By Liu Chien-ling and Frances Huang)Enditem/cs (ICE TAIPEI)

Fonte notizia: Organi di Stampa - Focus Taiwan News Channel